Ralph Bunche Neighborhood Vision Plan, Benton, Ark.

On the Boards / Merit

university of arkansas community design center fayetteville, ark.

This plan seeks to revitalize a 100-year-old African-American neighborhood with appealing, affordable (less than $100,000) single-family houses clustered around neighborhood parks. Its site design, which handles stormwater runoff within the landscape, enhances the setting and obviates the need for road improvements and subsurface drainage. The houses include both familiar gable-roofed types and towerlike forms that create a “skyline” and maximize views of the nearby downtown. Our jury praised the development’s compactness and the buildings’ strong, simple geometry. “The sculptural nature of it is very successful,” said one judge.